Game of Thrones aired its final episode on May 19, 2019. The show’s impressive ratings may explain why HBO was determined to put out quality content by forking out insane amounts for the fan-favorite show. Game of Thrones episodes originally cost $6 million each, and they only got more expensive from there.
‘Game of Thrones’ is one of HBO’s most popular offerings
Game of Thrones is a fantasy drama based on George R.R Martin‘s novel, A Song Of Ice and Fire. The show is set on two fictional continents named Essos and Westeros and follows several story arcs throughout its entirety.
The first major arc follows the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. The plot follows the political conflicts between the noble families, who all try to lay claim to the throne or fight for independence from whichever family sits on the throne.
A second arc follows the exiled last descendants of the ruling dynasty, while the final arc details a military order defending the realm against threats from beyond the northern border. Game of Thrones was one of HBO’s most popular shows attracting a record-breaking viewership during its course.
‘Game of Thrones’s budget kept on increasing as the show got popular
Game of Thrones had one of the most believable CGI works, which was touted as ahead of its time. Every realistic dragon, costume, and set carried an expensive price tag which kept on increasing as the HBO fantasy drama got popular.
According to GQ, the show, which premiered in 2011, started with a budget of about $60 million to $70 million in its first few seasons. This breaks down to roughly $6 million per episode.
For season 2, episode 9’s Blackwater battle, the show’s creators, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, had to plead with HBO for more funds. Weiss told the outlet that they had initially asked for $2.5 million extra but had to work with the $2 million the studio provided. “It was a big ask for them and they understood it was really important,” Weiss said. The episode cost a total of $8 million.
The budget grew when the show got past the fifth season, nearly doubling the amount from the first seasons. Seasons 6 and 7 carried a $10 million price tag for every episode, while the season finale cost $5 million more, putting season 8’s price tag at $15 million per episode and $90 million for the entire season.
‘Game of Thrones’s ‘Battle of the Bastards’ cost more than ‘Blackwater’
While “Blackwater” cost $2 million extra, the amount doesn’t compare to season 6’s penultimate episode, “Battle of the Bastards.” Instead of dividing the budget equally for all episodes in the season, Game of Thrones producers decided to pull funds from the other episodes in season 6 to inflate the budget for the next-to-last episode.
Considering season 6 likely cost $100 million for the entire installment and $10 million per episode, it’s safe to assume that the Battle of the Bastards cost more than $11 or $12 million, and it’s easy to see why it cost that much.
Entertainment Weekly did a deep dive into what went into filming the episode, and according to the outlet, the show needed 600 crew members, including cameramen, costumers, and makeup, 500 extras, 160 tons of gravel spread over a muddy field, 70 horses to gallop across the gravel and four camera crew. The show also needed to pay for its already expensive cast. The episode took a total of 25 days to shoot.
